Swimming in Ideas (a McRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Steve, Danny and Joseph work on the water feature.


_Mari & Ilna: What can I say? I'm enjoying this adventure every bit as much as I was on day one. Maybe more._

 _Special thanks to Mari for covering for me on Friday for my anniversary!_

 _REAL Worlders-thanks for all the enthusiastic support. You guys are the best._

* * *

 **Swimming in Ideas (1/1)**

"What are we waiting for?" Danny rubbed his hands together in anticipation as he made his way onto the deck where Steve was finishing up his second cup of coffee. "Let's get this show on the road. I have important things to do this afternoon."

He'd dropped Grace and Gabby off at the foot of the Makapuu Lighthouse Trail half an hour earlier to meet Catherine, Elizabeth, Kono, Carrie and Angie for a morning of hiking followed by a leisurely girl's day lunch and some shopping.

His plan was to spend a couple of hours helping Steve build Angie's water feature then go home and relax on the couch with a large piece of the chocolate cake Gabby had baked the previous day until the girls got home around dinnertime.

"Have a seat." Steve pointed to the chair beside his. "We have to wait for Joseph."

Danny looked at the legal pad laying on the table that he knew contained the design for the project. Steve had been making notes on it all week and Danny had teased his partner several times about picking up the habit from Joseph. "We have the plans, right? Can't we get started without him?"

Steve shook his head then turned his attention towards the water as a school of dolphins appeared in the distance. "Just relax. He'll be here any minute."

Danny watched silently for a few minutes.

He couldn't remember if there was ice cream in the freezer to put on the cake.

Maybe he should stop on the way home and pick some up just to be sure.

As long as he was stopping at the store maybe he'd pick up a sub too.

Jirou made a ham, salami and provolone that reminded him of home. With the perfect amounts of lettuce, tomato, onion and oregano and dripping with oil and vinegar.

Maybe some chips on the side.

He began to fidget.

"I'm just saying I don't understand why you and I can't get to work."

"You'll see," Steve responded calmly.

"You might want to keep in mind that I'm giving up my morning off to help you … " Danny grumbled, clearly warming up for a rant until Steve's words cut him off.

"It's for Angie."

Danny's face softened. " No fair." He smiled. "You know I'll do anything for that precious angel. Even wait here doing nothing when I could be home laying on the couch watching ..."

Suddenly Joseph's head appeared around the side of the house. "Is the coast clear?" he asked as his eyes darted furtively around the deck.

"We're good," Steve assured him as he jumped up from his seat. "Catherine and Angie left half an hour ago."

"Ok, I'll be right back." Without another word Joseph disappeared back the way he came.

Danny's eyebrows knit together in confusion. "What in the world is going on?"

His question was answered a few seconds later when Joseph reappeared, this time backing a small, rented Home Depot box truck along the side of the deck. "They were out of a few things we need at the first Home Depot I went to so I had to go to the one in Pearl City." He slid out of the driver's seat and opened the back of the truck to reveal a pile of lumber and assorted building supplies.

"What the … ' Danny's mouth fell open. "I thought this was going to be a little … Does Catherine know about this?"

"She's the one who said it could be bigger and more elaborate if we built it on the deck as opposed to making it part of the activity wall," Steve reminded him.

"Yes, I remember." Danny's eyes swept over the materials in the back of the truck. "But I'm not sure she meant … "

Steve started to unload supplies from the truck. "She didn't set any specific limitations."

"That's an oversight I think she might come to regret," Danny grumbled.

"Danny, my boy," Joseph clapped him on the back jovially, "sometimes it's just easier to ask forgiveness than permission."

Danny's hands landed on his hips. "If you say so. But is all of this stuff really necessary. There's enough here to build something bigger than my first apartment."

"Don't you agree that Angie should have best possible water feature we can give her?" Joseph asked as he extracted a small resin liner from the truck. "Doesn't she deserve that?"

"Of course she does." Danny smiled. "And I'm perfectly happy to build her her own miniature water park if that's what she wants." As more and more supplies came off the truck his dream of a lazy Saturday afternoon stuffing himself on the couch began to fade. "I just also want to be able to tell Catherine and Elizabeth this wasn't my idea."

Joseph chuckled. "So noted. Now let's get the truck unloaded so we can get started."

* * *

"I knew all the extra square footage on this deck was gonna come in handy someday," Steve said as the three men stood back and surveyed the outline of their project they'd carefully taped off. "We can build this as big as we want and still have plenty of room for everyone to fit comfortably at barbecues."

"I'll get started running a water line," Joseph offered. They had decided that the pool having it's own water supply would be much easier than using the hose to fill it every time. A small drain hole in the bottom would provide a mess free way to empty the water between uses.

"When we installed the outdoor kitchen we set it up for extra lines in case we ever wanted to expand," Steve said. "You can use one of those connectors."

"Sounds good." Joseph grabbed his tool belt. "This shouldn't take long."

Danny studied the resin liner that made up the centerpiece of the water feature. "Doesn't that look a little deep for Angie?"

"We're installing a water regulator," Steve explained. "Right now it'll keep the water from getting deeper than a few inches but as Angie grows we'll adjust it."

"I gotta admit," Danny couldn't help but smile broadly, "this is awesome. I mean how many kids have their own waterfall? Grace is gonna flip when she sees this."

"Angie loves waterfalls." Steve beamed. "Ever since the first one Cath and I showed her."

"Whenever she's hiking with Elizabeth and me and we're on a trail with a waterfall nearby she gets excited as soon as she hears the sound," Joseph added from his position on his back under the outdoor sink.

"We're gonna use PVC pipe and mesh screens to make sure we get a nice, gentle cascade of water." Steve held up the pieces to show how the three foot high structure would be installed. "Then we'll cover the whole thing with faux stone siding to make it look realistic."

Danny shook his head and grinned. Steve really had thought of every detail.

"If that's the waterfall, what's this?" Danny picked up a two foot long rigid resin sheet propped up against the opposite side of the pool.

Steve smiled unashamedly. "That's gonna be the slide."

* * *

Working together the three men had the large elements of what Danny had taken to calling Angie's Adventure World assembled and safety checked by just after lunch.

The pool area of the structure was approximately six feet in diameter and fit nicely into the corner of the deck opposite the outdoor kitchen. At the far end stood McGarrett Falls. Three feet of gently cascading beauty that pulled water from the pool itself so as to maintain a constant water level. Opposite that was a small slide to which Joseph had attached a clear rubber tube that, when unclamped, would provide steady lubrication and cooling.

All that was left to do was the installation of the smaller elements.

Danny examined the mesh bag full of pool toys and other assorted items Joseph had picked up on his shopping trip. "You know …" He paused.

Joseph and Steve could see the wheels turning in his head and gave him time.

"We could build a box that would fit in this space between the curve of the pool and the house." Danny pointed to the area he had in mind. "We could fill it with sand and Angie could have a little mini beach to build tiny sandcastles."

"Look at you," Joseph teased. "A few hours ago you were worried we were going overboard and now you're suggesting ways to expand."

Steve smirked. "You realize you can no longer pin this all on Joseph and me, right?"

"It's not my fault. The two of you are rubbing off on me," Danny countered with mock defensiveness. "I would have been perfectly happy building something simple."

Steve snorted as he began to look through the pile of wood they had left. "Keep telling yourself that."

"Listen … ' Danny's hands landed on his hips. "You … " he pointed to Steve, "I expected this from. But I always thought Joseph had a more grounded head on his shoulders."

"I used to," Joseph admitted. "Then I got a granddaughter. Now all bets are off."

Steve chuckled.

Danny shook his head and smiled. Here they were, three grown men, willing to go to any lengths necessary to make one little girl smile. His thoughts drifted to Grace, so grown up now but still his little girl. He was still trying to make her smile as often as possible and he knew both Steve and Joseph shared in that goal.

It was a lifelong commitment.

"Since I'm already on the hook for expanding things …" He grinned. "When Grace was little she had this plastic water wall that she would play with for hours. The cups were arranged with the smallest at the top and the biggest at the bottom. They were attached with rods so they could spin. You filled one and dumped it into the one underneath it. It helps kids learn the concept of small, medium, large and extra large."

"That sounds great," Steve said. "Jenna gave us the extra wire she had left over after she made the abacus for the activity wall in case we needed it for anything. Will that work?"

"That should be perfect." Danny's eyes lit up with excitement. "If we make it so it spins we can put some funnels on the other side with clear tubing so Angie can watch the water run through them."

"I like the way you think." Joseph checked his watch. "We have a couple of hours until Catherine is due home. Let's make this happen."

* * *

At a little past 5:00 the three men sat on the deck admiring their work and relaxing with a beer. Joseph had returned the truck an hour earlier and come back to the beach house to discover it had been decided that he and Elizabeth, along with Grace, Danny and Gabby, would be joining Steve, Catherine and Angie for dinner. Grandma Ang sent her regrets as she was on a scheduled casino outing with her seniors group.

Danny sat up a little straighter when he heard the women in the kitchen. He had no idea how Catherine was going to react.

A few seconds later the door opened and Angie immediately squealed "Dada Dada!"

Steve stood and kissed Catherine on the cheek as he lifted his daughter into his arms. "There's daddy's girl! Did you have fun today?"

"Holy cow!" Grace's eyes went immediately to the new addition on the other side of the deck. "What is this? Angie! Look!" She let out a squeal. "A pool for you."

Grace's excited tone caused Angie to flail her arms and legs.

"With a waterfall and a slide." Elizabeth let out a bark laugh. "Not to mention a sand castle station and … " She eyed Danny's rotating wall, "Every other extra any child could possibly want. It looks like you gentlemen have had a very busy day."

"This looks amazing," Gabby said with a tinge of awe in her voice.

"This is … ' Catherine took a few steps forward to examine it more closely, "really something."

"Remember," Steve said, "You're the one who told us if we built it outside we could go a little crazy with it."

Catherine snorted. "I don't think those were my exact words."

"Close enough," Steve replied with a lopsided grin.

Catherine placed her hand under the waterfall to test the intensity, checked the depth of the water in the pool and ran her hand down the slide. The build was flawless, which was exactly what she would expect from three men who loved Angie as much as Steve, her father, and Danny did. There were no sharp edges. All the wood was sanded and varnished to cut down on the possibility of splinters. Every potentially sharp corner had a rubber guard on it.

She couldn't help but picture Angie splashing happily.

She eyed a piece of wood with a handle leaning against the house and turned to Steve, her eyes shining.

"You even made a safety cover." She smiled. "You really did think of everything."

Steve beamed. "We tried."

"I never want to hear another word about me going overboard with presents for Angie." Elizabeth gently elbowed her husband in the ribs.

He kissed her cheek. "I'll do my best."

"Hey." Grace spun a few of the multi-sized cups then turned to Danny. "That looks like the water toy I had when I was younger. Nonna used to put a plastic tablecloth on her kitchen table and let me play with it inside."

"She did." Danny smiled at the memory.

"So what do you think?" Steve asked as he bounced Angie gently.

"I love it!" Catherine kissed him on the cheek. "I really do. It's perfect. And I noticed you made it so it can grow with her for a few years."

"That's the plan." Steve grinned.

"Only you could build something … like this … when you were supposed to be building a small water feature … and have your wife come home and not yell at you." Danny shook his head. "Luckiest man on the planet."

Catherine shrugged. "I love it. More importantly, Angie will love it. And honestly I'm surprised it's not shaped like a ship with fully functional water cannons."

Steve's grin widened. "That sounds like the perfect idea for a playhouse."

"All we'd need is a self contained system to supply water," Joseph said excitedly. "That's doable."

"And we give it a crow's nest so Angie could survey her kingdom," Danny added.

"Ok, whoa you three." Catherine chuckled. "What do you say we break this in first. I'll go put Angie in a swim diaper and … " Catherine's voice trailed off.

Steve saw Catherine look at her mother and noticed Elizabeth's good naturedly defiant look.

"And?" he asked.

"And one of the new swimsuits I bought for her," Elizabeth said with a sorry, not sorry tone. "And not one of you has room to talk."

 **THE END**

* * *

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